[ I've always been a skeptic of industrial policy, and the travails of the various federal green programs and such make me feel justified my thinking in that regard. Yet, for struggling communities, clearly something needs to be done, even if not trying to pick specific winners and losers. In 1983 Rhode Island had an opportunity to have implemented an economic turnaround plan dismissed by critics as industrial policy, but voted it down. I recently took a look back and that, and the results of that decision that I think are relevant to other … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2013
If You Don’t Care What the Public Thinks, Why Waste Its Time Asking?
During the lengthy planning process for the Ohio River Bridges Project nearly Louisville, the bi-state study group surveyed the public on preferred bridge designs. This was a high profile endeavor that was prominently covered in the papers and such. The public even got to vote on what designs they liked. It was quite a spirited debate, but at the end of a lengthy design selection process (I'm told it lasted three years), this design by Boston architect Miguel Rosales was chosen for the East End bridge: To give you a feel for the process and … [Read more...]
Philadelphia Center City Stations
Philadelphia Market East Station. Photo Credit: Flickr/acetonicThis post is part of a series called North America’s Train Stations: What Makes Them Sustainable — or Not? See the series introduction for more. In the series introduction, I divided America’s stations into four categories based on how they are evolving to sustainability. The first was “The Likely Sustainables.” While most cities have plans to reutilize their central station, these cities are doing it best. These stations serve compact cities and are using these economic … [Read more...]
North America’s Train Stations: What Makes Them Sustainable – or Not?
[ Today and Tuesday I'm kicking off a series by Robert Munson that reviews North America's train stations. Entries will be posted periodically as Robert writes them. Today is the set up followed by Philadelphia, and many more analyses that should surely get people arguing - Aaron.] Before cities waste more time and money fumbling, let’s first describe how train stations should serve the 21st Century. Which of these encourages you to travel by train? New York’s former Penn Station was cathedral-like, an elegant concourse and … [Read more...]
Louisville Bridges Project Proceeds From Tragedy to Farce
I've written a lot about the $2.6 billion boondoggle project to build two new bridges across the Ohio River in Louisville (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). A new East End river crossing is without a doubt necessary and adds regional value, but the rest of the project is basically bad news. But no matter how crazy this project is, it always manages to find ways to show that it's even more wacky than I thought. The latest installment comes from the so-called "investment grade toll study" that was conducted in order to set … [Read more...]
Boston: Whither Somerville?
[ Urbanophile reader Andrew Zimmermann sends us this tale of change in Somerville, a suburban town near Boston - Aaron. ] Urban planners have long cast the artist and gay/lesbian communities as urban pioneers and harbingers of gentrification. We’ve heard the stories of North Halsted in Chicago, the Pearl District in Portland, the South End in Boston and Soho/Chelsea in Manhattan. But, ever since hipsters became part of the sub-culture lexicon, urban experts have blamed gentrification on them. From Williamsburg, Brooklyn to the Mission in San … [Read more...]
The Promise and the Peril of Rust Belt Chic
What do you do when you're a post-industrial city fallen on hard times? There's a sort of default answer in the marketplace that I'll call for want of a better term the "Standard Model." The Standard Model more or less tells cities to try to be more like Portland. That is, focus on things like local food, bicycles, public transit, the arts, New Urbanist type real estate development, upscale shopping, microbreweries, coffee shops, etc., etc. The idea seems to be that the Rust Belt city model is a failure and should be chucked in favor of … [Read more...]
What Triggers a Civic Turnaround?
Lots of cities in America are struggling with low population growth and sluggish economies. Poor demographics and economics lead to fiscal problems that result in more people and businesses leaving, perpetuating a downward spiral. Detroit, which recently filed bankruptcy, is an extreme case, but many cities and states find themselves in similar straits, including much of New England and especially most of Rhode Island. How to places break out of this and renew prosperity? Looking at cities where there has been change, I have observed several … [Read more...]